Ca Ira
For All Nails #32: Ca Ira By Hernik Kiertzner ---- :Office of the Chancellor, Christiansborg Palace :Denmark, Kingdom of Scandinavia :27 August 1972 "Thank you very much for making the time to see me, Herr Kanzler. I realise this is a particularly busy time for you, with the Rigsdag elections pending, and I am grateful for your forbearance." "It is always an enormous pleasure to lay aside the burden of office for a moment and engage with the Ambassador of our great neighbour to the South. What may I do for you?" "It is a matter of some delicacy. I regret to have to inform the Herr Kanzler that a number of our citizens appear to be in the custody of your Security Service and that repeated efforts by my Embassy staff to gain contact with them have been entirely unsuccessful. My Government is concerned at this and hopes that we, with our mutual sympathy, might seek some resolution to this issue without recourse to more formal action." "Why, Ambassador, you amaze me. Were this indeed to be the case, that the Security Service had, in fact, detained persons claiming German nationality, we should of course have communicated with the Embassy at once. Alas, I am desolated to have to inform you that this is not the case. Our Security Service has, in fact, requested a number of individuals to make themselves available to assist in an ongoing investigation, but of that number, some are Scandinavian nationals, some of depressingly high status and the others make no claim whatsoever to protection from the German state -- in my view, fortunately, as capital charges are likely to result from their detention red-handed in the pursuit of espionage and subversion. We are a minor Power and aware of our international position and, as you know, cleave strongly to our neutrality. One of the ways we do this is by taking a very firm line with any attempt to influence our society by covert means." "We, from our side, of course, resolutely condemn any attempt to subvert our good friends to our North; however, I must insist, Herr Kanzler..." "I am devastated to have to tell you, Ambassador, that I am required to reject your insistence. My regret knows no limit. I am aware that you are very busy and that your services are urgently required, no doubt to communicate with Berlin, so, unless there is anything else I might do for you...?" "No, Herr Kanzler, I thank you again for your time and bid you farewall." "Good day, Ambassador." ---- :Regimental Headquarters, 1. Fremmedregiment :Vasalageren, Landskrona, Sweden :28 August 1972 Oberst Jan-Magnus Johannssen, commanding officer of 1. Fremmedregiment FN1 was not happy. He had been warned to stand by for a high level visit from the Ministry of War and was now sitting in his office, facing two well-, if anonymously-dressed civilians, who had just explained that they were stripping out his senior NCO cadre. Not only were they taking his Regimental Chief Sergeant, Stabssergent du Maurier and six of his nine Company Chief Sergeants, but also his Deputy Intelligence Officer, Stabsofficiant Mancini and his entire team, for "duties of a sensitive nature" -- with no explanation and no discussion. Adding insult to injury, they had also instructed him to produce a list of all members of his Regiment who held the Sports Badge in Gold, were qualified in airlanding using fallscreens and spoke at least one language other than Haerdansk FN2 and French. Johanssen strongly suspected that he was about to lose at least a full battalion's worth of hardened long-service professionals to Military Intelligence FN3 and he was profoundly unimpressed. ---- Forward to FAN #33 (Scandinavia): A Stiff Northerly Expected. Forward to 31 August 1972: Un Québécois Errant. Return to For All Nails. Category:Scandinavia